27. Bella

27

BELLA

T he first thing I see when I open my eyes, is Gabriel, sitting next to my bed.

It takes me a minute to realize where I am—that I'm in a hospital room. My head feels thick and groggy, my eyes sticky, and my entire body hurts. For a moment, I almost think I'm dreaming. The same way I thought I must be when I heard him tell me that he loved me, as I slipped in and out of consciousness after the accident. I thought I imagined it.

But he's here. Sitting next to the bed, and when he looks up and meets my gaze, the look of relief and happiness on his face is so utterly blatant that I know Clara was right all along.

Gabriel does feel something for me. Something more than I was willing to let myself believe.

He leans forward, gently reaching for my hand. "Bella? How do you feel?"

"Like I ran headfirst into a tree?" I manage a small smile, and I see him wince.

"I was so worried about you." His thumb rubs over my knuckles. "I was afraid you wouldn't wake up."

"What happened? I mean—I remember the accident, but…am I—" I look down the length of my body, seeing the cast on my leg. My free hand instantly flies to my stomach before I can stop myself, and Gabriel follows the motion. My stomach twists immediately as I remember the test, the result I got just before all hell broke loose in the house, and how I have no idea what his reaction will be.

Gabriel looks at my face and chuckles. "I know, Bella. The doctor told me." His hand wraps around mine, squeezing lightly, as my eyes widen, and I feel a bolt of panic dart through me. "I'm not upset. I'm happy about it. I don't know when that could have happened, but?—"

"I think it was the library. When you asked me to marry you." I feel my cheeks heat up. "But it doesn't really matter, I don't think. Just—how do you feel about it?"

"I'm happy." Gabriel slides his fingers through mine. "I would always have been happy to have more children. I'm happy to have children with you , Bella. But it matters to me what you want, too?—"

"You're happy to have them with me?" I blurt out, looking at him with uncertainty. "But—we're not?—"

"Do you remember what I said when I got you out of the car? Before you passed out again?" Gabriel's fingers brush across mine. "I thought you might have heard it."

"I thought—" I swallow hard, my throat dry. "I thought I was hallucinating."

Gabriel shakes his head. He gets up, coming to sit carefully on the edge of the hospital bed, and he leans forward, gently brushing a piece of hair away from my face. "No, Bella," he says softly. "You weren't hallucinating. I love you. I know now that I have for a long time. I wish I'd told you sooner. I wish that wasn't the first time you heard me say it. But I'll say it now, and?—"

He presses his palm gently against my cheek. "I love you, Bella. And if it's what you want, I want us to stay together. I want you to be my wife, and I want to be your husband. And I'm overjoyed that we're having a child together. There's nothing more that I could want in this world."

Tears spring to my eyes, and I lean into his touch, a happiness so strong that it almost hurts flooding through me. "I love you too," I whisper. "I wish I'd said it sooner, too. But we can say it now. And I do want to stay. I want to stay with you forever."

"Good," Gabriel whispers. And then he leans in, his lips brushing against mine.

"You're safe now," he murmurs, his forehead touching mine. "Igor is dead. He'll never hurt you, or anyone else again. When we go home, you'll be safe."

"He's—" I look up at him, startled, and Gabriel gives me a grim smile.

"I did it myself," he says quietly. "I told you I would protect you, Bella."

"You did." I reach up, wincing slightly, and brush my fingers along his jaw. "Thank you," I whisper. "I can't wait to go home."

"I can't wait to take you there."

When he kisses me again, it's all I can do not to drag him down into the bed with me. But there will be time for that, later.

Now, there's only the future to look forward to. And nothing left to fear.

—

A week later, I'm healed enough to come home from the hospital, both the baby and I are given a clean bill of health. Gabriel drives us both back to the estate, and when he parks the car in front of the house, he pauses for a moment, glancing over at me.

"There's been a lot of repairs done over the last week," he says quietly. "The attack damaged a lot of the work you did in the house. But I told them to keep it as close to what you did as possible—to repair as much as they could without changing things. It looks just about the way it did before."

My chest tightens as I look at the villa, a pang of sadness sweeping over me as I think about leaving. "I hope the new buyer takes care of it," I say quietly. "I really loved this house."

Gabriel's hand closes over mine. "Bella?—"

"What?" I look over at him, and he's smiling.

"There was no buyer," he explains. "It was a trick, to get me away from the house. And now, after everything that's happened—I don't think I want to sell. This is my family's home, and now it's more than that. You did so much work on it—you and Agnes and Cecelia. I was wrong to ever think that I should sell it off, or that I didn't have the time to put in the work to keep it running."

Relief washes over me. "I'm so glad," I whisper, my eyes misting over as I look back at the villa. "I'm glad it won't belong to anyone else."

"I think—" Gabriel hesitates. "If you want to stay, Bella—the children have said they would want to stay here, too, if that were a possibility. Agnes and Aldo both love the idea. We could all start over here, together, as a family. I know there are some bad memories here from the attack, but there are so many more, for all of us, in New York. Or—" He lifts one shoulder in a half-shrug. "We could go somewhere completely new. A clean slate. I'll go anywhere you want, Bella, as long as you're there with me."

Happiness, bright and sharp, fills me in a way I'm not sure I've ever felt before. "I want to stay here," I tell him firmly, my heart so light that it feels as if it could float out of my chest. "I want to stay here with you, and Cecelia, and Danny, and everyone else. I love it here. And I would be very happy for us to make a life here together."

"I was hoping you'd say that." Gabriel leans in, his fingers sliding into my hair as he kisses me gently. He pulls back, nodding to the front of the house, where I see the door has opened, and Cecelia and Danny are running out, making a beeline for the car. "Let's go home."

I nod, a smile spreading across my face. And as I step out into the bright Italian sunshine, I know I've never felt more at home.

This is my family. My place. And I never want to leave.